


Conflict

by queermoraghid (TheDoctorIsIcecube)



Series: Torna: The Golden Flufftry [9]
Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 04:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18189989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDoctorIsIcecube/pseuds/queermoraghid
Summary: Mikhail hasn't been learning fast, and Malos' patience is wearing thin.





	Conflict

**Author's Note:**

> Did someone say drop out of existence for two and a half months? No? Huh

“Jin.” Malos’ voice interrupted the scene that he didn’t think he or Mikhail had wanted to be interrupted; Jin had been reading a children’s book to Mikhail, at his request, in a new attempt at helping Mikhail to get to sleep. His ether levels had been all over the place in recent evenings, so going outside was a bad idea, but that left a hyperactive kid shut in an inn room. “A word for a moment? Outside.” A word about Mik, then.

“Okay.” He set the book down, glancing down at Mikhail. He looked considerably less bouncy than he had fifteen minutes ago, which was something. Hopefully he would get the rest of the way to sleep on his own. Jin stood up, following Malos outside. “What is it?” 

“We need to move somewhere else,” he said. “Or ditch Mikhail. He’s attracting too much attention and people are starting to notice there’s something up.”

“Didn’t you blackmail your way into the inn room?” Jin asked. “There’s always been something up. Mikhail isn’t the problem.” Mikhail probably was still a bit of a problem. But there was no way that they were getting rid of him. 

“Mikhail attracts too much attention and he clearly can’t learn to control himself fast enough,” Malos snapped. “If we can’t get rid of him, then we need to move. Find some other place to rent rooms, somewhere where nobody knows who we are.” 

“This is the most anonymous city in Alrest,” Jin said. “The only other place we’d stand half a chance at is Fonsa Myma. And getting there from here would only attract even more attention.” He wasn’t opposed to moving, but Malos had to think logically. Sticking it out and trying to blend in might work better.

“Well then, what do you suggest?” Malos looked distinctly moody, so Jin folded his arms and glared right back.

“I’d suggest laying low, keeping Mik inside, and not making a fuss. Honestly, I’m concerned that getting rid of Mikhail was so high up on your list of suggestions.” 

“He’s a risk, no matter what you say,” Malos said. “I don’t want him gone. He’s a good kid. But I value my life a whole lot more, and I don’t want to bring Indol over here because he can’t regulate ether to save his life.”

“Then we can find a solution that doesn’t involve getting rid of the kid,” Jin said firmly. “We can train him up better, or if we absolutely have to, we can move. Mik will understand, I’m sure. But you can’t tell him that you even thought about ditching him.” 

“He’s probably listening in,” Malos said with a shrug. “Watching from somewhere we can’t see him. He needs to learn faster, because what he’s doing right now isn’t good enough. I’ve tried to teach him, and sometimes he gets it. But who knows, he’s in a rut right now, or he’s stopped trying.”

“He’s a kid, and he’s a kid who has been through some truly unimaginable things,” Jin snapped. “You have to cut him some slack. You can’t expect him to be perfect, or even to act like an adult. Because he’s very much not an adult.” 

“He’s been alive longer than I have,” Malos said, probably not realising how little weight that added to his argument; it was just proving that Mikhail was more mature than he was. “It’s not like it’s been a short time. We’ve been lounging around here for months and he still doesn’t get it.”

“He’s probably frustrated that he isn’t getting any better, and so he’s stopped trying as hard. He’s not lazy, we both know that. And he’s very smart. The only problem is that he’s not getting enough support or praise, because his teacher is an asshole.”

“If you have a problem with my methods then you should be teaching him rather than reading him bedtime stories with funny voices,” Malos said. Jin decided not to point out that Malos would only know about the funny voices if he’d been listening for a while.

“I can teach him,” he said. “I would gladly teach him.”

“Then you can try,” Malos said. “I can promise you, you won’t get anywhere. The kid is stuck in a rut, and I don’t think that anything is going to get him out of it.” 

“I’ll make my own judgement on that,” Jin said firmly. “And you can keep your negativity away from Mikhail, too.” 

“And hide the truth from him?” Malos asked. “Do you really want me to do that to him? If you think he’s capable of controlling himself, surely he’s capable of understanding the problems we’re in.”

“Well, he doesn’t need to be told by you that he’s the reason everything is going wrong, because that’s just not true,” Jin said sharply. “If anyone is to blame, I would argue that it was you, Malos. So don’t be so sanctimonious.” 

“And what did I do, other than saving his life and keeping him and you off the streets?” Malos asked. Sometimes, Jin could almost forget that Malos had been entirely uncaring to everyone for a long time and hated people. Now was not one of those times.

“What you can do right now is to stop raising your voice at me,” Jin snapped. “I’m going to help Mikhail, you can keep your nose out of it, and I promise you, he’ll improve. The kid is smart, he just needs a teacher who cares about him. And that’s the end of that.” Jin turned away to go back inside the room, making it very clear that this argument was over. Malos let out a very heavy sigh behind him, and didn’t follow. That was probably for the better.

When he got back into the room, Mikhail was sitting stark upright in his bed, a fearful look on his face. When the door opened, he immediately closed his eyes and fell backwards, clearly pretending that he was asleep. He wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Mik, I know you’re awake,” Jin said, going to sit on the side of Mikhail’s bed. He cracked his eyes open, still looking scared. “How much of that did you hear? Because you know I won’t let Malos do anything to hurt you, right?” 

“I couldn’t hear it,” Mikhail said quietly. Jin fixed him with a Look. “I didn’t! I could just hear that you were angry. And Malos was angry. And I know that I-” Mikhail didn’t say any more, but Jin knew what he was thinking of. It was obvious that the reason Malos was angry was because of him. 

“It’s not your fault,” Jin said firmly. “As we both know, Malos has some trouble remembering that other people have feelings sometimes. Give him a few weeks, and he’ll get over this. In the meantime, he won’t be teaching you for a while. I’ll do that instead.” 

“Really?” Mikhail asked, a smile creeping onto his face despite the worry that was still clear in his voice. For a moment, Jin wondered why he’d never offered to teach him before, and then he remembered how unstable his own ether had been in the last few months. He’d been navigating a whole new level of power and a completely...a completely different body.

“Yes, really. Don’t let Malos scare you into thinking you’re not wanted here, okay? I knew you long before I knew him, you’re my priority.” Jin reached up to squeeze Mikhail’s shoulder. “You should get some sleep for real now, you know.”

“I know,” Mik said. It went unspoken that after that, any progress he’d made towards sleeping had been completely lost. “Can you- can you keep reading?”

“Of course,” he said, settling down properly in his seat and reaching for the book again. “Now, where were we?”


End file.
